PYEONCHANG, South Korea — Nick Cunningham can’t wait for his next race. But it just might be in a stock car.

Cunningham stood in the sunshine at the Olympic Sliding Center after finishing a disappointing 19th in the four-man bobsled and reflected on a career that took him to three Olympics, but a future that may or may not include the sport.

“I’m definitely weighing the options,” said Cunningham, 32. “I was two feet out the door before this Olympics, I was ready to leave, I was ready to start a new chapter, but the Olympics have a funny way of bringing you back. I’m going to definitely go into this offseason and enjoy it, and I made sure I enjoyed this in case it was my last Olympic experience. I’m going to go in, I’m going to start racing some stock cars, and kind of get into that, and just kind of enjoy life.”

It was a difficult Olympics for the men’s bobsled team, which lost its best pilot and spiritual leader when Steve Holcomb died in May of 2017. Codie Bascue’s sled was the fastest Sunday, finishing ninth.

“We all wanted to do better for (Holcomb),” Cunningham said. “His last event was here last year....This was a sport that he loved. We’re going to honor that and we love it. Every one of us has taken some sort of lesson from him, that’s why we’re at the Olympic games, because he’s influenced us somehow.”

United States Men's Bobsled team member Hakeem Abdul-Saboor poses for a portrait on the Today Show Set on February 12, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Marianna Massey/Getty Images)(Photo: Getty Images)

Cunningham’s team — including Sam Michener, Christopher Kinney and former Knoxville trainer Hakeem Abdul-Saboor — is among those that will certainly be recast by Beijing in 2022.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen the next four years,” said Michener. “I’m 30 years old right now so I’ve got to kind of go home, think about what I want to do and where my future lies.

“It’s my first Olympics so I’ve been trying to take it all in. We have World Cup races all over the world and it doesn’t even compare to the energy you feel here. You can actually almost feel everybody watching at home, too. You’re standing at the start line, there’s a USA chant going on, and it hits you at a deeper level than anything else I’ve experienced.”

The highlight of Cunningham’s Olympics might well have been the morning he spent hanging out with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who stopped by as part of his work with NBC. Cunningham said he has taken up stock car racing to help blunt any post-Olympic letdown.

“It’s terrifying to me,” he said. “My whole life I’ve been an athlete and, everyone’s like, 'Oh, it shouldn’t be your identity.’ Well, it’s easier said than done.”

United States Men's Bobsled team member Hakeem Abdul-Saboor poses for a portrait on the Today Show Set on February 12, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Marianna Massey/Getty Images)
Getty Images

PYEONGCHANG-GUN, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 13: U.S. Olympian Hakeem Abdul-Saboor attends the USA House at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games on February 13, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
Getty Images

PYEONGCHANG-GUN, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 09: Hakeem Abdul-Saboor of The United States speaks during a United States Bobsleigh press conference ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at on February 9, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
Getty Images

Driver Nick Cunningham and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor of the United States starts their third heat during the two-man bobsled final at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Associated Press

Driver Nick Cunningham and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor of the United States take a curve during the two-man bobsled competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
Associated Press

Driver Nick Cunningham and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor of the United States start their first run during the two-man bobsled competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Associated Press

Driver Nick Cunningham and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor of the United States take a curve during the two-man bobsled training at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Associated Press

Driver Nick Cunningham and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor of the United States start a practice run during training for the two-man bobsled at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
Associated Press

Driver Nick Cunningham and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor of the United States start a practice run during training for the two-man bobsled at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
Associated Press

Driver Nick Cunningham and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor of the United States start a practice run during training for the two-man bobsled at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
Associated Press